Reuters News:

Los Angeles Lakers begin their NBA Playoff campaign against Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday (August 18) at the AdventHealth Arena in Reunion, Florida.

The Lakers finished top of the Western Conference while Portland scraped through as the eighth seed but Lebron James believes they are a far better team than what their position suggests.

James said this season has been the toughest in his 17-year career because of the bio-secure bubble all the NBA teams have had to live in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the three-times NBA champion insisted he was as focused as ever for the upcoming series against Portland.

Portland Point Guard Damian Lillard said he and his team mates were already geared up for the contest having to win several games in the death and only securing their playoff berth on August 15.

The Lakers, on the other hand, had already qualified for the post-season in March and claimed the top seed in the conference on August 5 with five games of the regular season remaining.

The best-of-seven series between the Lakers and Portland begins at 2100 ET on Tuesday (0100GMT on August 19).

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